The CFTC opens the door to U.S. Bitcoin perpetuals, Coinbase gets green light, and Kalshi moves in
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday cleared the way for regulated exchanges it oversees to list perpetual contracts tied to Bitcoin (BTC), a move the agency said will “create a clearer path” for liquid Bitcoin perpetual products to operate under U.S. rules. Perpetual contracts—derivatives with no fixed expiry that mirror spot price moves—are a staple of offshore crypto markets; the CFTC framed its decision as a major step toward bringing those products onshore, calling the availability of “true perpetuals” in the U.S. a significant advance and aligning the action with President Trump’s stated goal of cementing the United States as a global crypto capital.
The announcement came alongside a separate regulatory action: a no-action letter to Coinbase. Under that guidance, Coinbase’s U.S. customers can access the options and perpetuals the exchange already offers. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal hailed the development on X (formerly Twitter), calling it “a massive first for the industry” and saying it reflects efforts to bring “proven global products under American regulation,” which he argued is essential to making the U.S. a leading hub for crypto.
Market entrants responded quickly. Prediction-market platform Kalshi said Friday it will begin offering perpetual futures contracts—starting with crypto perpetuals—positioning its product as a regulated U.S. alternative to offshore venues. Kalshi highlighted the rapid expansion of the offshore perpetual market, which it said grew from $28 trillion in annual volume in 2023 to more than $90 trillion in 2025. The firm said its perpetuals will charge funding rates every eight hours (with those rates visible in transaction history) and noted that agricultural commodity perpetuals will not be part of the initial rollout.
What this means: U.S. traders may soon get access to perpetual-style crypto derivatives under domestic oversight, while exchanges and platforms that want to offer these products will need to work within the CFTC’s regulatory framework or secure similar guidance. For the industry, the twin moves—regulatory clarity from the CFTC and Coinbase’s no-action letter—represent an important push to migrate high-volume perpetual trading onto regulated U.S. venues.
Featured image created with OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com
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